Book Review: Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn

Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart 

Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg 
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable. 

2/5 stars (it was ok)
Not one of my favorite Gillian Flynn books.  This book is full of unlikable characters with severe mental problems.  This includes everyone in the town, the cops and the kids.  I did not care for Camille.  Also I felt the book dragged a little and then it gets to the end and things are just rushed.

Book Review: Blood Kiss - J.R. Ward

Blood Kiss - J.R. Ward

The legacy of the Black Dagger Brotherhood continues in a spin-off series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author...

Paradise, blooded daughter of the king's First Adviser, is ready to break free from the restrictive life of an aristocratic female.  Her strategy?  Join the Black Dagger Brotherhood's training center program and learn to fight for herself, think for herself...be herself.  It's a good plan, until everything goes wrong.  The schooling is unfathomably difficult, the other recruits feel more like enemies than allies, and it's very clear that the Brother in charge, Butch O'Neal, a.k.a. the Dhestroyer, is having serious problems in his own life.

And that's before she falls in love with a fellow classmate, Craeg, a common civilian, is nothing her father would ever want for her, but everything she could ask for in a male.  As an act of violence threatens to tear apart the entire program, and the erotic pull between them grows irresistible, Paradise is tested in ways she never anticipated--and left wondering whether she's strong enough to claim her own power...on the field, and off.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

I actually really liked Paradise from the beginning.  She grew up in a privileged life but doesn't see herself as above anyone, even those below her class.  I love how even though this story is about Paradise we still see the brothers, even if it's mainly Butch and Marissa.  I kind of miss seeing the rest of them.  Oh and Fritz is always great as is Lassiter.  Lassiter needs to have his own spin-off series!  I am wondering if this series will have a different female lead in the next book or still follow Paradise.

Book Review: Dangerous Lies - Becca Fitzpatrick

Dangerous Lies - Becca Fitzpatrick

Stella Gordon's life is a lie.

She does not belong in Thunder Basin, Nebraska.  As the star witness in a murder trial against a drug dealer, Stella is now in the Witness Protection Program.  The small-town locals can never know who she really is.  Not even Chet Falconer, the one boy who makes her want to reveal her true self.  She knows that telling the truth will only bring violence to this safe haven.

Despite how hard Stella tries to stay under the radar, danger is fast approaching.  Criminals have a way of getting rid of witnesses, and Stella may have made the one mistake that could lead the col-blooded men hunting for her right to her doorstep.

3/5 stars (liked it)

I did not like Stella at first but grew to like her by the end.  I actually liked all the other characters in Thunder Basin.  I wish we had also gotten the point of view of Reed, the boyfriend she left back home.  I also would have liked to know more about Carmina as she seemed like a really interesting character.  I did not see the end coming when the truth comes out.